Matador vs. Pesos: What do you think?
I admit, I was completely flabbergasted when I read the story on MyBallard the other day about Peso’s suing Matador for stealing their concept and menu.
I’ll let you read the story there for yourself, but I like Peso’s and enjoy going there on a semi-regular basis. Yet even though I live in Ballard, I’ve rarely been tempted by Matador. I’ve been there several times and I’ve never really had a bad experience, but I can’t say anything about it really called to me.
Even moreso, however, I never even thought that one had copied the other. Now that I read the story, sure, I can see the similarities, but I still don’t get the same vibe from them.
What about you, Seattle? Do you think Matador has hurt Peso’s business? Do you think their menus are just a little too similar?
Even though they might have a point (I was surprised at how distinctive the menu was at Peso’s when I stopped in after bumbershoot) I thought it seemed awfully silly when I saw it in the Seattle Weekly earlier this week [mb]. I mean, it’s not as if habanero prawns are really a smoking gun.
I’ve been to both restaurants (well, the Matador in West Seattle, not in Ballard), and I definitely prefer Peso’s. As for the legal aspects of the thing, I think the Peso’s owner might be on shaky ground with a lawsuit — however, working for someone and then using their ideas to start your own restaurant does seem kind of crummy.
The copycat idea is truly silly. They’re both great restaurants and there are some similarities, but I never felt like either Pesos or Matador got their chocolate in my peanut butter … errr, you get my point. With this logic we’d have every Vietnamese Pho soup house, every Mexican restaraunt and every burger joint in Seattle suing each other. Obama’s "silly season" doesn’t apply just to politics … it’s silly season in Seattle’s restaurant community. Get back to serving drinks and food and we’ll keep buying, unconfused and just happy that both places exist in different neighborhoods.